Stretch

For once it is not a James Clear principle I am quoting, though I do reckon I will be referring to something he has written sooner rather than later.
This time it is something I heard recently that got me thinking, “yeah, way to go.”  Something like, “so often we ask ourselves the wrong question” was said.  They went on to say instead of asking “can I now do what is being asked?” I should be asking, “can I learn and do what is being asked.”
There is a huge difference.  To me the first question is asking can I do what is being asked right now.  Invariably the answer is no.  Yet if I ask can I learn and do what is being asked, the response may be different.
So often it is commitment, application and patience that is required.  Previous jobs have shown me that given the right environment, I can do what is being asked even though I may not have the knowledge required at the point in time.  Really though it is just a matter of time.
I saw this firsthand where I worked.  I employed someone who did not possess the knowledge needed at the time.  But what we were after was commitment, application and patience.  If those elements were present, we knew the knowledge was just a matter of time.  That was the way it turned out.  Really that was one of the best decisions made.  Initially it may not have looked like it, but given the right environment the commitment, application and patience would yield the results we needed.
The whole point for me is that so often I can write myself off based on something that is only partly true, and if I look at the whole picture it is a different picture.
One volunteer job I am doing now I really thought I was not cut out for.  I knew I had certain skill sets required but I knew I lacked others.  Yet I really got excited about the opportunity, so I took on the job.  I am so glad I did.  I am using and growing in the skill sets I had and learning and growing in new ones.  Those skill sets were only dormant not non existing.
So to me where possible I try to see beyond what is, to what can be.  It is not wishful thinking, but it is not selling myself short either.  I figure after all, the way of personal growth is to be stretched doing something I know I am cut out to do.